> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Five Permanently Affordable Homes Ready for Owners - URL: https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/five-permanently-affordable-homes-ready-for-owners/ - Published: 2026-10-13T21:05:13.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-13T21:05:13.000Z - Description: Five Permanently Affordable Homes Ready for Owners. - Author: Rachael Nutting - Tags: Local News, Dundee Hill, Affordable housing, Olympic Housing Trust, Rachael Nutting PORT TOWNSEND, WA — October 10, 2026 — After just 13 months of construction, the Olympic Housing Trust (OHT) celebrated the grand opening of its Dundee Hill development on Saturday, welcoming community members, local officials and project partners for tours of five newly completed permanently affordable homes. The project, which broke ground in August 2025, represents a significant milestone for the housing trust, which was originally founded as Homeward Bound in 2005 before being reborn as OHT in 2017. **Homes priced for local families** The Dundee Hill development features two 2-bedroom homes priced at $203,000 each and three 3-bedroom homes at $232,000 each—prices that OHT Executive Director Kathy Morgan emphasized are designed to keep local families in the community. The homes operate under a community land trust (CLT) model, with OHT holding a 100-year ground lease that is renewable for another 100 years. According to former Director of Development Kellen Lynch, this structure ensures long-term affordability. "These five homes will likely turn over—if we look at how often CLT homes turn over—for about 50 times over that span," Lynch said. "That's 50 families in Jefferson and Clallam County being able to own their homes, not have to pay overburden rent, and actually put that money towards their lives." ![The kitchen inside of one of the 3-bedroom units with a bar and sink to the left, a silver refrigerator in the center and a closet to the right. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c6/a2/c6a241c6-69f5-450c-9fd7-6b170730e448/content/images/2026/10/Kitchen.JPG) **The kitchen inside of one of the 3-bedroom units at Dundee Hill. Photo by Rachael Nutting* **A long journey to completion** Morgan acknowledged the many people who contributed to the project's success over nearly two decades. "I keep going back to when it first started as Homeward Bound back in 2005, and it was a vision of a few members of the board at that point," she said. "It does take a lot of people for this to happen. In 2017, when Olympic Housing Trust was reborn, it took a lot of community members, a new board and the foresight of all of those combinations of people; that is why we're here today." ![Kellen Lynch speaking before a crowd with a green tent in the background. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c6/a2/c6a241c6-69f5-450c-9fd7-6b170730e448/content/images/2026/10/Kellen.JPG) **Kellen Lynch speaking before the crowd at the grand opening event for the Dundee Hill development. Photo by Rachael Nutting* Lynch praised the collaborative approach that preserved community space alongside the housing. "You could \[have\] put five homes on the five lots here, or we could be smarter and put five homes at one end while still making them big enough and keep a really necessary and beautiful community garden and food source for this neighborhood," he said. "That garden feeds at least 20 individuals, including four or five different families." **Elected officials emphasize need for more housing** Port Townsend Mayor Amy Howard spoke about what affordable housing means for the community. "Having projects like this means that my friends can stay here, my neighbors can stay here, the people that I see at the doctor's office who are helping me can stay here," Howard said. "We need all kinds of different people to be able to be here in order to be a functioning community." ![Port Townsend Mayor Amy Howard speaks to a crowd with a green tent in the background. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c6/a2/c6a241c6-69f5-450c-9fd7-6b170730e448/content/images/2026/10/Amy.JPG) **Port Townsend Mayor Amy Howard speaks to the crowd celebrating the grand opening event. Photo by Rachael Nutting* Jefferson County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour noted that Dundee Hill is part of a broader wave of housing projects in the region. "These projects that are happening now in our community—this Dundee Hill project, the Mason Street project in Hancock, the Children's Homes project—it's showing us that this is possible," Eisenhour said. "We need to replicate, replicate, replicate. We need a lot more units of housing for our community." **Applications still open, future projects planned** Applications for the Dundee Hill homes close on October 15, 2026\. Interested buyers can find applications on the OHT [website](https://olympichousingtrust.org/?ref=jeffcobeacon.com). Morgan also announced that the organization is moving forward with its next major project, Chimacum Commons, with a groundbreaking planned for 2027. The Chimacum Commons project, developed in partnership with the Jefferson Land Trust, will blend farming, habitat preservation and housing on approximately 16 acres. The project will include a mix of homeownership and rental options for qualifying Jefferson County residents, with rental units expected to be ready by 2028. "This is the first of many projects we have in our pipeline," Morgan said.